The Boston Celtics practiced on Tuesday to prepare for their first-round matchup against the Orlando Magic, which earned the seventh seed by beating the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament.
Jaylen Brown, who missed the final three games of the regular season due to a knee injury, was a full practice participant, earning praise from teammates Al Horford and Jrue Holiday.
“He looked great today. I was very happy to see him out there, doing everything. It’s a really good sign for us,” Horford said about Brown via SB Nation’s Noa Dalzell. “Jaylen is very strong mentally. He finds a way. He’s the type that he’s out here putting in the work and trying to get himself ready to go. He understands what’s in front of us. I know that mentally he’s in a good place.”
“JB is going to be JB in terms of not showing weakness — everything is about not showing weakness, for him — being able to be strong mentally and physically,” Holiday added. “Nobody is worried about him. We all know he wants to be on the court every time we play. We also know he’s going to be prepared.”
Boston Celtics News: Joe Mazzulla is “100%” confident about Jaylen Brown’s availability in the playoffs
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is confident Jaylen Brown can handle his usual workload when they open their title defense against the Orlando Magic. Mazzulla added that Brown received injections to help his knee heal faster.
“Just part of the rehab process for him to get back to be his absolute best,” Mazzulla stated. “He’s continuing to take care of himself and put himself in great position to be ready for the postseason.”
Brown missed 11 of Boston’s last 29 games with the injury and was limited to 63 games this regular season, making him ineligible for any end-of-season awards. The team needs him at 100 percent since he is arguably their second-best player behind Jayson Tatum.
